krishna/articles/2012/003

So all the sastras will say that Krsna, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He has got different expansions unlimited. Although Krsna is one, but He can expand Himself into many, many millions. Advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam [Bs. 5.33]. Ananta-rupam. And each rupam is acting in some universe. Just like at this time, here, you find darkness in Bombay, but the sun is present in all his different phases all over the world. Sun rises in the morning at, say, seven o'clock. So this seven o'clock to next seven o'clock, in the evening seven o'clock, you will find, if you immediately take information, somewhere it is seven o'clock, somewhere it is twelve o'clock, somewhere it is six o'clock, somewhere it is... All the time formula of the sun is present, although we are seeing there is no sun. Similarly, Krsna is present throughout the whole universe in some feature. In one universe you will find Krsna is taking birth, Janmastami. In some universe you will see Krsna is playing with the cowherd boys. Somewhere... In this way. Therefore it is called nitya-lila. Nitya-lila means the janmastami-lila is going on permanently somewhere or other. Therefore it is called lilaya, yadrcchaya.

So this is a great science, Krsna science, krsna-tattva. So we have to learn from the authorized Vedic literature about Krsna. And that is required in human life. Because if we simply understand the truth about Krsna, janma karma ca me divyam [Bg. 4.9], which are divine transcendental, yo janati tattvatah, if you try to understand and if you become fortunate to understand the divine nature of Krsna's lila, then you become liberated, immediately: tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti kaunteya [Bg. 4.9]. The Sankhya philosophy of Kapiladeva is explained in this way to understand Krsna.

So Krsna, yadrcchayaivopagatam abhyapadyata lilaya. Krsna is lila, and our coming here is not lila. We are forced. We are forced. Karmana daiva-netrena dehopapattaye [SB 3.31.1]. Krsna's body is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1]. Krsna's body is not material. Even if we think it is material, still, it is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha. Just like one can argue that "Here is Krsna's form. It is made of stone. How it is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha?" But if you know the nature of Krsna, even He appears as stone, still He is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha. How? Because the stone is also energy of Krsna. That is said in the Upanisad:

So the stone is also another energy of Krsna, another energy of Krsna. And Sri Krsna is all-powerful. He can utilize His energy in anyway. He can utilize His energy in any way. Just like an electrician -- he knows how to utilize electricity for the refrigerator and the heater, although the heating process is just opposite of the cooling process. We see opposite. Similarly, material nature and spiritual nature, just opposite, but the same way: the electricity utilize for heating and electricity utilized for cooling. The energy is the same, but it is the manipulation of the engineer which can turn heat into cold and cold into heat. So therefore, for Krsna there is no material nature. Everything is spiritual nature. Even Krsna appears as material form, as stone, as matter, still, one who knows Krsna, he can derive Krsna's favor from any form. Otherwise the devotees are recommended to worship the Deity in the temple.

So do you think that the acaryas and the sastra have advised them to waste their time by worshiping a stone? It is all recommended by the acaryas, big, big acaryas. Just like Ramanujacarya. He established hundreds of temples all over India, Laksmi-Narayana temple especially, the Ramanuja-sampradaya. Similarly, Caitanya Mahaprabhu's sampradaya established hundreds of temples of Radha-Krsna. Big, big acarya. Do you mean to say they did mistake? As some people of our India, they say, "There is no need of worshiping in the temple." No. Why not need? Acaryopasanam, that is recommended, jnana. Acarya... Acaryas, they have established temples, many hundreds of thousands of temples, of Visnu mandira.

Unless Krsna becomes available to your service, then how you can serve? We have, at the present moment, no eyes to see Krsna. Therefore Krsna, out of His causeless mercy, He has appeared in His original form just to receive or accept service from you. You cannot serve Krsna in His virad-rupa. Therefore Krsna has come to you to accept your service in this metal or stone form. But He is not metal or stone. This is called krsna-tattva-jnana.

Arcye visnau sila-dhir gurusu nara-matir vaisnave jati-buddhih. These things are forbidden. You cannot... Arcye visnau sila-dhih. Krsna or Visnu, the same thing -- if you think that this murti is made of stone, sila-dhih, or Salagrama-sila, if you think it is sila or stone, this is naraki-buddhih. This is not recommended. It is... Don't think. Arcye visnau sila-dhir gurusu nara-matih. And those who are guru, spiritual master, Vaisnava, if you think of them that he is ordinary human being, that is forbidden. Ganga-jala or caranamrta, if you think ordinary water, that is forbidden. Vaisnave jati-buddhih. Vaisnava, who has become devotee of Krsna, if you think that he belongs to this caste, he belongs to that caste, that is also forbidden. Naraki-buddhih. These things are naraki-buddhih. At least, those who do not know how Krsna can be transcendental in all His features... Therefore we are forbidden, "Don't take like that." It is a fact that this Krsna in this temple is the same origin Krsna who is in the Vaikuntha, but because we have no eyes to see, because we are not mature to see Krsna, therefore we should accept this, I mean to say, negation, that "Don't think like that." Then we will be able to understand.

So that janma karma me divyam [Bg. 4.9]. Nothing is Krsna's anything material. Everything is spiritual. But by His lilaya, to manifest different lila, He accept different types of body. But they are all Krsna, the same original person. Advaitam acyutam... Acyuta, He does not fall down. Therefore His name is Acyuta. Acyuta means never falls down, never deviates. He is always in His sac-cid-ananda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1]. Not that because He has appeared for my convenience to accept my service in this form which I am seeing or the atheist is seeing, that it is stone. No. He is not stone. Advaitam acyutam. He doesn't fall. He does not deviate. Otherwise, there are many stories. That, in the Caitanya-caritamrta, the Saksi-gopala. Saksi-gopala temple is there in Jagannatha Puri. Just one station before Puri there is Saksi-gopala station. And there is a temple. Saksi, saksi means the witness. That vigraha, that Deity, was in Vrndavana. He came to give evidence for His devotee. Therefore He is known as Saksi-gopala. So devotee talks. Even if you think, "This is stone," or "This is metal," but devotee can talk, and Krsna talks with him. There are many instances. That requires advancement of spiritual life.

So this is called tattva, to know about Krsna perfectly. And the informations are there in the sastras. And simply to understand it, we require a little qualification. We require little qualification. Otherwise, everything is there. That qualification is to increase the temper of your devotion, or increase the quality of your love for Krsna. Premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santah sadaiva hrdayesu vilo... [Bs. 5.38]. And that love can be increased by the process:

So our this Krsna consciousness movement is giving, educating people how to become Krsna conscious, how to know the science of Krsna. Krsna-tattva-vetta. And anyone who knows Krsna perfectly well... That is... Caitanya Mahaprabhu approves that it doesn't matter what he is, a scientist. Yei krsna-tattva-vetta, sei 'guru' haya: [Cc. Madhya 8.128] "Anyone who knows perfectly well the science of Krsna," krsna-tattva-vetta, "in truth, he is guru." Nobody can become guru unless he knows the science of Krsna. Therefore it is said in the sastra that sat-karma-nipuno viprah. Vipra means brahmana.

Brahmana, he is supposed to know six kind of activities, sat-karma. Sat means six. What is that six kinds of? Pathana pathana. Brahmana must be very learned, very expert, expertly learned in Vedic knowledge. That is called pathana. And pathana: and he must teach others. He must be teacher, not that "I know and keep all the knowledge in my belly." No. Therefore formerly all the brahmanas they had catuspathi. The brahmana will sit down anywhere and begin teaching others. The student will come. That is brahmana's business. Pathana... But unless he is himself learned, how he can teach? So therefore, first of all he must be learned, pathana, and then pathana, then he can teach others. Pathana pathana yajana yajana. He must worship the Supreme Lord, and he must teach others how to worship the Supreme.

Ref: Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.26.4 -- Bombay, December 16, 1974.